Who I Can Be
by CrazytownBoo
Summary: The King of Zenith, an angry advisor, a huge power, a group of friends, a worried man, and a person with a plan. A story about the Winx Club that takes place after their graduation. Interested? Read.
1. Chapter 1 The Beginning

Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club

_Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club_

_Winx Club © 2003-2008 Rainbow S.r.l, Created by Iginio Straffi_

**Who I Can Be**

**Chapter One: The Beginning**

The King of Zenith entered his conference room in his castle late in the afternoon. As he looked out the window, he could see the familiar planet that gave his realm their source of light. He also could see the shape of another planet, Zenith's fourth moon, that, oddly, could only be seen in the middle of the day when the light planet was at it's highest point above Zenith. These familiar sights comforted him. He always was stressed around the time of the advisor's monthly reports.

The King was a tall, strong man with a kind face and short brown hair. His usual dress was a suit made of a material that looked similar to metal and a long, navy cape that fitted around his shoulders and flowed behind him. He usually wore his silver crown with navy jewels and diamonds embedded into it as well.

The room had many chairs and a long table with a long window on the lengthy side. He seated across from his advisor, whom he had appointed to give him reports on how his realm was faring each month. Though young, the king's advisor was extremely intelligent and knowledgeable about the realm and had gained the King's trust over the years.

Strangely, the advisor was late and the King was left to nervously peer out the window and hope for a good report.

One of the king's servants walked in and shut the heavy blinds across the window, leaving the room dark until the automatic lighting system came on.

"King Zythron, your advisor has arrived at the castle and will be here shortly." The servant informed. Not long after the servant had left, the King's advisor walked into the room and took a seat across from King Zythron.

The King sighed, "The report? I can't wait any longer. I've gotten tired of waiting." The advisor then spoke, "You really should be a tad more respectful. To begin with, business in Zenith is prospering greatly, as usual. We've made deals with the realm of Solaria to be able to sell our inventions there. The realm of Linphea still won't accept any visitors to offer technology in their realm, they continue to stay strong to their will of keeping their realm technology-free. We'll try again to persuade them. This month, the realm's power as been attacked only twice, but on the downside, there have been many attempts to hack into our greatest databases and there also have been attempts to plague our realm with viruses and bugs. These attempts were all terminated though, as usual. The people are happy with your rule as they usually are. You had nothing to worry about, King, just business as usual."

The King nodded, content with the report and eased of his stress for now. He then dismissed the advisor with a wave. The advisor slowly shut the door to the conference room, and muttered under their breath, "Next month's report won't be a usual one, King Zythron... You'll see... You'll see."

_My Note: Feel free to comment, (I also enjoy constructive criticism.) Thanks!_


	2. Chapter 2 In The Castle of a Queen

Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club

_Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club_

_Winx Club © 2003-2008 Rainbow S.r.l, Created by Iginio Straffi_

**Who I Can Be**

**Chapter One: In The Castle of a Queen**

"They're coming!" Flora was overjoyed at the thought of seeing her friends again. It was seven years after they had graduated from Alfea and Flora was now a queen at age 26. She looked out at her castle window at a ship that had just landed. Luckily, they hadn't crushed her elaborate garden of various flowers in the process. A blonde haired woman jumped out of the large metal ship. A man with messy brown hair followed.

"Stella!!" Flora ran to her friend and embraced her in a hug. "Flora! It's so good to see you again!! How are you darling?"

"I've been great. How are you?"

Stella sighed, "Ruling Solaria is such a job! Not only that, I have to keep up with my modeling career and my fashion designing business. Ugh! I get so tired. Plus, I have Matt over here, he's like a kid sometimes."

Flora looked over at the tall man with brown hair, "Matt?"

"Yes, my husband. The King of Solaria."

Flora wondered to herself why Brandon and Stella split; Stella could see the curiosity in her eyes.

"Brandon is King Sky's personal knight now. He protects him and would die for him unfortunately. Sky decided he wanted him to split with me for his sake and so... he did. What a jerk."

"Oh... I don't have a husband yet."

Within the next few hours, Bloom, Musa, and Layla arrived along with their husbands and a personal servant or two.

They were all led into a grand room with a large round table with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers in its' center. Each chair had a flowered design carved into it's wooden structure. The windows were also adorned with many flowers, mainly roses. The room looked like it could very well be an indoor garden instead of a royal dining room.

Glasses were passed around and a feast was laid out for the guests and the king and queen. Queen Bloom was sitting next to her husband, King Sky. Queen Layla sat next to King Daniel, her husband. Musa was seated next to Riven, who didn't look all to happy to be there.

"So Musa, darling, how is your concert tour?" Stella began the conversation.

"Great! I'm just a little tired and my voice is getting hoarse."

Bloom looked to Flora,"So where's Tec?"

Flora frowned, "She didn't RSVP, I don't think she wanted to come."

Everyone frowned except for Riven.

"She's obviously the only smart one out of the bunch"

Musa kicked Riven under the table and glared at him.

They spent the rest of the day with chit-chat and reminiscing of the past. The group then parted late that night and Flora was left by herself again.

Later that night, she began to wonder if she and her friends would see each other again soon. She also wondered why one of her best friends didn't show up and didn't even bother to call. She wondered if the friendship they all shared would ever be as strong as it used to be...

_My Note: Feel free to comment, (I also enjoy constructive criticism.) Thanks!_


	3. Chapter 3 The Streets at Night

Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club

_Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club_

_Winx Club © 2003-2008 Rainbow S.r.l, Created by Iginio Straffi_

**Who I Can Be**

**Chapter Three: The Streets at Night**

The next day, Tecna was sitting at her metal desk, typing away at something on her computer. She peered out the window next to where she was seated to watch the flying cars zoom past it.

She was dressed in a small purple tank top and blotched jeans, an item of clothing she hardly ever wore. She wasn't planning on leaving her house, and she didn't feel that wearing a suit made of a metal was necessary.

A familiar man walked into the room she was in and pulled up a chair next to her. Within a couple seconds of him taking a seat, Tecna took her hands off of the keyboard and sighed.

"Timmy, honestly, I don't appreciate you reading this. Could you leave for a moment?"

Timmy sighed and pulled the chair away, "I just don't understand. What's up with you lately? You have supposedly been so busy and yet you rarely have left this room!"

Tecna looked over at him, "I've been looking up some information. I haven't come up with much yet, but it's of dire importance to me. I would appreciate it if you just left for now so I can spend time with you later."

With that remark, Timmy reluctantly left the room. Tecna and him lived together but were unmarried and Timmy wasn't quite sure if they ever would be. Tecna had a private job she rarely spoke about and Timmy was an inventor, like all the men in his family. Tecna would often help him with his inventions, combining her powers with technology to create great and efficient gadgets.

Later that night, Tecna dressed in a dark purple shirt and matching pants with a black belt. She then put on a long, black trench coat and walked out onto the streets of Zenith. She failed to tell Timmy where she was going, but she didn't much care. As she walked down the streets, she would shift her glance upward at the lights of the city and the cars flying overhead. She could see the light blue moon and the second moon of Zenith looming above. She then turned down the street and walked down stairs into a tunnel leading to the underground of Zenith. ...

_My Note: Feel free to comment, (I also enjoy constructive criticism.) Thanks!_


	4. Chapter 4 The One Who Holds the Power

Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club

_Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club_

_Winx Club © 2003-2008 Rainbow S.r.l, Created by Iginio Straffi_

**Who I Can Be**

**Chapter Four: The One Who Holds the Power**

Tecna made her way through the underground tunnels of Zenith. She kept her eyes on the path ahead of her, knowing that the tunnels wasn't the safest at night and it wasn't usually safe at all for a wealthy person. She quickened her pace as she caught sight of eyes in a darkened tunnel watching her. She walked on through the tunnels for about 20 minutes until she reached what looked like a dead end, but she knew it wasn't.

Tecna placed her hand on the wall of the tunnel's end and closed her eyes. When she opened them, another tunnel, a dark tunnel, had been shown before her. Once she walked on, the illusion of the tunnel's end re-formed behind her, thus, causing all light to be blocked out. Tecna formed a ball of green energy and lifted it up. As she walked, it followed her, giving her light.

After walking through the dark tunnel for another good 20 minutes, she came to two different tunnels. She knew which one to take, luckily, and she was aware that the other one led to a steep drop off that was really hard to notice due to it's small size and the considerable lack of light in the tunnels. So she walked on...

Meanwhile, Timmy was running from room to room looking for her when the phone rang.

"Hello, this is Timmy Cymone. Who is this?"

"Hi Timmy, it's Flora"

"Flora! I haven't talked to you in awhile. How have you been?"

"Good, thanks, is Tecna there?"

"She's not here at the moment... I can take down your number and have her call you back if that's alright."

"Umm. I'll just call back. Thanks Timmy, nice talking to you."

"You too, Flora, bye."

"Bye"

Timmy hung up the phone and continued his searching.

At the same time, Tecna reached another dead end. This time, she had to use quite a bit more energy to rid of the realistic illusion. When it disappeared, she didn't see another tunnel, but a large, round, metal room with an eerie glowing orb in the center of it on a metal stand.

Tecna felt stronger each time she took a step towards the orb. Once she reached it, she paused. After all the months of planning, she was doubting if she should go through with her plan. She decided to continue after a long while of thinking. She reached out and held the orb. She then produced energy within her hands that broke the orb's glass. What was left was the green, unstable power. She quickly motioned her hands towards her and pushed the power within her body to absorb it. She closed her eyes, _He'll see... he'll finally see..._

The shock to her body that came after absorbing the power was great, and it was almost too much for her to handle. If she hadn't have had any powers before, she probably wouldn't have made it. Instead, she fell unconscious on the cold metal floor.

_My Note: Feel free to comment, (I also enjoy constructive criticism.) Thanks!_


	5. Chapter 5 A Premonition

Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club

_Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club_

_Winx Club © 2003-2008 Rainbow S.r.l, Created by Iginio Straffi_

**Who I Can Be**

**Chapter Five: A Premonition**

The next morning Timmy woke up to Zenith's light source of a planet rising. Right after getting dressed and eating, he went out onto the streets of Zenith to search for Tecna again.

Meanwhile, Flora was walking around her garden, waiting for Stella to arrive. She had called her in hopes of seeing her again, and even though Stella claimed to be very busy, she somehow had enough free time to spend a whole afternoon with Flora in Linphea.

Stella's ship landed away from the garden and soon enough, Stella was waltzing around Flora's garden, acting like the beauty queen she thought she was. Though she was in a garden in a nature realm, she came wearing a gorgeous glittering pale-pink dress that stopped right above her knees. She wore stiletto high-heels that matched. The laces of the heals went up her leg and stopped just above the knee. The outfit was complete with silver bangle bracelets on her wrists, two diamond necklaces, and a silver headband with a huge diamond in its' center. Stella looked like she had just stepped off of the runway.

After chit-chat, Flora began to develop a serious conversation with Stella.

"I think I know why Tecna won't talk to me" Flora began

"Why?" Stella was curious.

"Well, a couple weeks ago, and this has been happening for months, business owners from her realm and king's servants and other people keep coming here to try to convince me to fill Linphea with technology. I stand by my past kings and queens when they said that Linphea would never have technology, but unlike them, I have a friend that lives by it... that practically is technology... I think she's mad that I won't allow it here... ever."

Stella frowned. "I think you really do need to talk to her. This is really crushing you big time"

"She doesn't want to talk to me"

"Flora, you're making a big issue out of nothing. I bet she's just been busy and you're overreacting!"

Flora frowned, "I can sense that something big is going to happen."

Stella bounced up and down, "ooh! I know that word, it's a big one... erm... a premonition!"

Flora, though sweet and caring, couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Meanwhile in Zenith, Timmy could barely make out a stumbling figure out in the distance. He could tell by the size that it could be none other then Tecna. He rushed towards her and helped her walk straight. He had no clue what she had done and that she was stumbling about in that way because she was weak at the moment... instead he thought that she must have gotten drunk. It wasn't like her to do that, and he wouldn't believe that she was, but at the moment, it was the only thing Timmy could think of. With that thought, he helped her home and made sure she got to her room in one piece before going off to his study to work on a gadget.

As Timmy worked on his little invention, he couldn't help but feel the familiar sense of worry he had been feeling an awful lot lately. He stopped working on his gadget and leaned back in his chair. He didn't know what to do or say to her when she was to wake up. He knew she had been acting strange lately, he just couldn't put his finger on why. That worried him too. He didn't know what to do. He walked out of his study and laid on the couch for awhile, thinking to himself, worrying, and running over possible things to say in his head before he drifted off to sleep.

_My Note: Feel free to comment, (I also enjoy constructive criticism.) Thanks!_


	6. Chapter 6 The Advisor

Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club

_Note: I DO NOT own Winx Club_

_Winx Club © 2003-2008 Rainbow S.r.l, Created by Iginio Straffi_

**Who I Can Be**

**Chapter Six: The Advisor**

One month later, King Zythron was waiting in the conference room once again, looking, as usual, out the window. The servant, again, came in to shut the blinds and report that the advisor would be there soon.

King Zythron leaned back in his chair as the advisor walked in and took a seat. "The report for this month? Hows' my realm?"

A small smile went across the advisor's face. "Oh, just business as usual... except for one tiny detail."

King Zythron leaned forward, "What detail?"

"Oh nothing really..."

"You must tell me"

"Well, Zenith's power has been stolen."

'WHAT!? But nobody knows its location!! How could it be!? Who stole it!? I will rid of them AT ONCE!!"

"What if I said that I knew quite well who took it?"

"I'd make you tell me!"

"Well... it's quite simple."

"JUST TELL ME!"

"I took it."

Tecna held a ball of power in her hand and threw it at the king causing him to slam into the nearest wall.

"But you... you've always protected Zenith! How... how could you!?"

Tecna glared, "How could I?! I'm saving it from YOU!"

She blasted him again, "You... you and your awful scheming! You want nothing for the people here, just yourself!"

She couldn't control her anger, "YOU don't CARE if the people of Zenith get hurt. You don't care if things get destroyed, just as long as you have your riches, your castle, and your land you're happy! You're selfish, you aren't fit to be our king!!"

The king tried to dodge another blast, "You're wrong! You're wrong!! You are crazy!!"

Tecna blasted him straight in the chest, "You're no king! Consider yourself finished!"

Meanwhile... the servants and guards of the castle were all making their way up the stairs to try to save the king.

They could hear the king yelling, they could hear a girl screaming, they heard arguing and blasting. Soon they heard a window break and they stormed through the door.

The main guardsmen pulled out his laser gun and shot randomly. It was a perfect shot. Those who were in the conference room heard a loud thump against the floor...

_**Author's Note: My chapters are quite short, I've noticed. My apologies. **_

_**As usual… Feel free to comment, (I also enjoy constructive criticism.) Thanks!**_


	7. Chapter 7 Old Meet New

I do NOT own Winx Club

_I do NOT own Winx Club_

_Winx Club © Iginio Straffi, Rainbow S.r.l_

**Chapter Seven: Old… Meet New**

Zenith was abuzz about what happened the day after. Such talk spread around as, "Did you hear that the king's advisor tried to kill him?" or "Did you hear that the king is seriously injured?" and other things like, "the realm's power has been stolen; our realm's protector took it".

The now dethroned king was in a hospital bed, recovering. Tecna started planning her methods of taking over the throne so she could better rule Zenith. She knew with the realm's power, she could do almost anything.

The news spread fast about Zenith's situation throughout the Magic Dimension. Soon enough, the group of old friends met again at Flora's castle, but, Tecna decided to show up this time.

Once they all were seated, there was a long, awkward silence until Stella spoke up.

"So... Tecna... what are you going to do with that... erm... power"

Tecna looked at her, "Nothing, why?"

Stella didn't look like she believed her, "Well, why do you still have it?!"

"I will return it after I've taken the throne. I know the realm is quite unstable without it, so I wouldn't try to keep it. For somebody who wants to help Zenith grow and thrive, that would be a critically ignorant blunder if I did decide to keep it."

After that, the group of people seemed more relieved and began to relax and talk of past memories again.

But one friend wasn't quite as content with her answer.

Flora walked around the garden with Tecna.

"You can see the stars so clearly here! How beautiful." Tecna exclaimed.

"That's why I don't want technology here"

Tecna stopped, "What?"

"You heard. Please, stop sending people here! It's driving me insane." Flora could almost feel tears burning in her eyes when she though of the technology they were trying to bring; the technology that would change her realm

"Me!?" She laughed, "That was Zythron, not _me_. I wouldn't ever try to destroy the peace and the way of living of Linphea. Especially since one of my best friends is the queen! I would have to be crazy!"

Flora laughed, "Well, if you do end up taking the throne and being queen, will you make Linphea off-limits?"

Tecna laughed to herself, "Of course." She paused, "It's not 'if' I take over the throne, it's 'when'." She smiled.

"Why did you try to take him out anyway?" Flora was curious, but also a little afraid that her friend would try such a thing.

"Well... he didn't care much about Zenith. He didn't care about the people, the places, or anything. He wanted treasures. In fact, as his advisor, I have access to the castle, so I was looking around and probably went into a couple rooms I shouldn't have and I uncovered a scroll. On it, handwritten, was his plan for when he was to pass on the thrown. Since he had no children or many young relatives, he would have to pass the thrown onto somebody outside his family. He wouldn't. So he devised a plan to steal Zenith's power before he passed the thrown down. With it, he could do anything or get anything he wanted. And, as the whole Winx Club is quite familiar with, a realm without it's power is a realm thrown into total chaos. The way of living to Zenithians would be over. I couldn't let it happen."

Flora nodded, "So you picked yourself for the job?"

Tecna smiled, "Yes, I couldn't think of anyone better actually. I'm the one who stops villains from even getting near Zenith's power source, so, why shouldn't I be the one in power? I know it's not exactly the greatest reason, but for now, it works."

"And you and Timmy?" Flora couldn't help but ask.

"Well... that's a subject I haven't really had time to dwell on... all I will say for now is that he's a great friend."

Flora sighed knowing that Tecna meant more then what she had let on in her simple statement. She then pulled her back into the castle where the group was waiting.

When Timmy flew the ship back to Zenith, Tecna dreamed about the next day and what troubles it would bring...

_It's not over yet :P I know my chapters are short; for my next fanfiction, I think I'll try to improve on that. _

_Thanks __lateeda18 and Chibi Horsewoman for reviewing; and thanks to all of those who are reading this. _


	8. Chapter 8 Takeover

I do not own Winx Club

_I do __**not**__ own Winx Club_

_Winx Club © Iginio Straffi, Rainbow S.r.l_

**Chapter Eight: Takeover**

The next day, back in Zenith, Tecna casually walked into the modern castle she knew she would soon be living in. She studied the walls and the pieces of elaborate furniture that she walked past. She was going through the process in her mind, _alert the people of Zenith, take care of the guards, organize a few things, take care of some paperwork and such, and, finally, tell Timmy of the situation. _The last thought made her cringe. _I had been hiding this the whole time... being the king's so called 'advisor'... What will he think of me now? _She shook away the thought of him finding her to be a total disgrace and cutting contact with her. That would just add to the stress that she knew was to come. She had too much to deal with now as it was.

She quickly made the decision to use the elevator instead of the long staircase to reach her destination in the castle. She was glad at how modern the place was, even if the inside of it looked as if it had come from the Solarian castle... or antique so to speak. After she exited the elevator, she walked into a room that had dozens of screens covering the wall. Scenes of Zenith flashed before her eyes. People were walking, jobs were being done, and robots were tending to what they were programmed to do. She looked at the large control panel before her and sat down in the available chair. She pulled out her handheld computer and scrolled through the document she had written a few nights ago. When all the words were committed to her memory (which didn't take long), she began her work of getting into Zenith's television system.

Soon after the 'broadcast', the vast majority of the well-connected people on Zenith now knew of what had happened. Some were questionable, others just took it and went back to their duties. It went pretty well, except, now the guards knew that she was in the castle... the guards that had been all too loyal to King Zythron.

_Next... take care of the guards..._

"I said NO!" Flora yelled. She was tired of these people. _I thought Tecna said she would put an end to them coming here! _The group of men with all their gadgets were trying their hardest to persuade Flora to accept that the days of relying on nature only were long over, but she wouldn't hear it. She tried hard not to listen to them as they told her about the wonders of technology and how it would be great if she could invest some of her treasures into Zenith's technical supply for her realm. This was tearing at her. She finally managed to get away for awhile, but had no one to talk to. She had her flowers... but no one else. She missed having her friends around to comfort her.

When she walked back to the group of men, who, unfortunately for Flora, didn't leave like she was hoping. Instead, they were standing there with solemn expressions glued upon their faces. They were holding a light grey paper on a light metal slab with what looked like a pen attached to it. On the grey paper were many words, all typed out, but there was a blank spot near the bottom. A blank spot for a signature.

_SCREECH_. The door to the castle's 'prison' shut slowly. The prison was constructed of extremely strong metal and had security to the max. The guards were used to putting people in the cells available there, but now, the only people there was themselves. Luckily, the prison was a separate building, and not connected in any way to the castle. Its' location was far from Zenith's main city, on the outskirts of the realm. For one to get there by vehicle, though the cars could fly, would take much too long. Tecna had made a quick portal to get there within a few seconds, and also to get there without any disturbances from the seemingly unconscious group of five loyal guards. She grabbed onto her arm tightly, there was a spot right above her elbow and below her shoulder that throbbed. She would have to deal with that when she got back to the castle.

The checklist in her mind was almost complete. Next was to organize a few things... like meetings. She intended to meet with the many people that helped run Zenith and who helped it thrive. These people were those who Zenithians had decided should help the current ruler make decisions, though their suggestions to the ruler were just that... suggestions. Zythron had a way of ignoring these suggestions; most of them being well-thought of and had to do with helping the people of Zenith. The group was a highly intelligent bunch of people. Tecna was quite excited to speak with them...

_Planning and paperwork... finished. Pain in arm... need to take care of. Talking to Timmy... _Tecna took a breath. _Still need to talk to Timmy..._

_Author's Note:_

_I am going on break pretty soon, so I won't be writing much. I will add chapters once I get back. Another note… There is plenty more where this came from ;) I have my ideas. :D Thanks for the reviews, and thank you for reading! Enjoy. _


	9. Chapter 9 A Possible Solution

_I do __**not**__ own Winx Club_

_Winx Club © Iginio Straffi, Rainbow S.r.l_

**Chapter Nine: A Possible Solution**

Tecna could hear her footsteps quite clearly as she walked down the long, decorated hallways of Zenith's royal castle. The exit was in sight... her destination. She still had a slight pain in her arm, but she had something else to deal with at that time. There was one thing on her list that she still had to do...

She knew Timmy was most likely at his little technical workshop he had set up in their basement. The size of it was pretty small, but it was a perfect place to work. He usually was located there... either there or some other room in their home.

She wondered how much he already knew. Living in Zenith, he had to have heard about the advisor who attempted to rid of the king. He had to have suspicions... all this time of her being gone... away at the castle. Did he know that she was at the castle? Did he wonder why? Or... didn't he know? Did he know that she was the advisor? She was hoping that he didn't... she wanted to clear those issues up herself... she didn't want him to already have heard it from another source... it would make her seem quite careless.

She set her fingerprint down on a small space on the keypad that stood by the side door of her home, and then entered her password using a thin keypad. She glanced up at the camera above the door; still working fine... and recording. She then pulled out her key and inserted it into the large metal door. Finally, the door slid open automatically, shutting swiftly behind her when she was through. The security precaution had become an annoyance after awhile to the home's inhabitants, needless to say...

She peeked into the living room, one of the nearest rooms to her; no sign of Timmy. She then quickly made her way to the basement, where, as she expected, she found him. He was peering into a computer screen, adjusting plans he had created. Tweaking things here and there, hands typing with great speed on the keys of the flat, metal keyboard. He didn't even hear her come in... _Or is he ignoring me?_ She had no idea why she had so many doubts... she usually was quite confident with herself. She took a couple steps towards him...

Meanwhile, in Linphea

"I'm telling you, I'm tired of it..." Flora slumped into her chair facing her two friends, Sky and Bloom, who of which, where joined rulers of realms themselves. They were the only two that weren't too busy to talk to Flora and had been kind enough to even visit her face-to-face. In truth, Flora's distress call over the phone had alarmed a certain red-haired fairy, so she decided it was best to make sure all was well with the nature fairy.

"Have you been able to talk to Tecna?" Bloom inquired.

"Not really. She said she'd take care of it... but they just keep coming." Flora rubbed her head. "They gave me a paper... a contract..." She trailed off, frowning as she did so.

Sky had been listening to the conversation... all the while, he didn't put much of his own input into it, instead he let Bloom take care of that. He began to wonder things to himself, though, like if he should start saying his thoughts aloud. _Bloom would just shush me if I were to say something..._

"You need to get ahold of her. She'll help you out. You are her friend..." As the leader of the Winx Club , when it still was strong, her advice to her friend now wasn't the best. It almost an 'I can't help you with this; do it yourself' kind of advice. Flora frowned. Out of all the members, she was the one who missed the 'good ole days' the most... They all used to help each other in times of need, and now they've all since moved on with their lives… almost leaving their friendships in the dust.

Sky eventually decided to speak up, "I'll talk to her. As a King, I'll be able to influence her decisions, as well as the decisions of her board of advisors. I'll help you out, Flora. No need to worry. And the contract... just hold onto it for awhile until I have the chance to work things out."

Sure, it wasn't the best kind of help... he didn't rule the entire Magic Dimension... even though he acted like he could if he wanted to, but it was the best she had. Flora nodded, maintaining her sweet smile through the stress, "That sounds great, Sky." She couldn't think of anything else she could say. _Why should I keep the contract and not just get rid of it? Why should I let my friend take care of a problem I should be dealing with?_

While Flora was pondering options to herself, Bloom flashed Sky a look. Obviously, she had better priorities then to help Flora out with her 'tiny' problem. Sky ignored the glare and just smiled kindly at Flora. Ever since Bloom and Sky had gotten married, things hadn't been as good as they had been planning. Bloom always felt she had control over Sky, and Sky felt as if he had control over her. This was a problem that he couldn't sweet talk his way out of, for once.

Sky had had enough, he got up from his seat, thanked Flora for the nice conversation, and left the castle... heading towards the ship. With a hug and a few kind words to her friend, Bloom left as well. Before Flora knew it, she was alone... again. _Why can't they stay longer? _ Flora looked out her large glass window, half expecting to see a Zenithian ship tearing through Linphea's beautiful, clear blue skies.

"No, I wasn't aware of that..." Tecna bit her lower lip. So... it ended up that he didn't know that it was, in fact, Tecna who was the advisor, but, as she expected, he did have some suspicions with her leaving for long periods of time and all. "I can't believe that was you. And now you are to be the ruler of Zenith? This is a joke, correct?" Tecna wished she could say it was, but that would be a complete lie. She was at loss for words.

Timmy looked at her fallen face and could see that what she had said was indeed the truth. It hurt him that she hadn't told him, but it was also hurting him to see her like she had presented herself before him. She looked worried... worried and regretful. Two things he rarely saw in Tecna. He thought for a bit.

"So... and the realm's power?" Tecna did have a reply to that, "I will return it to its place when Zenith is under stable rule again." Timmy nodded in agreement. She had explained her reasons for her actions, and she had told him about her opinions on the outcomes of it all. There was not much left to be said about it all.. though the subject could be dwelled on for as long as they wished, it was dropped for both of their sakes. It's like they both knew that it was best to just move on... even if the whole situation was going to make 'moving on' a lot different then what Timmy would have liked. He wondered how she was going to handle the vastly growing and ever changing technical realm. She was just one young person compared to the large, and sometimes demanding, population of Zenith.

He gently placed his hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry... I'm glad you told me..." What else could he say? He had so much but he could only manage, "I'll help you in any way I can." She nodded, and, though she didn't show it, she was greatly content with his answer. She felt as if some of the weight had been shifted off of her shoulders. Then it was settled... it was all going to be alright... she couldn't help but slightly smile...

Then... the phone rang.

_Author's Note: I greatly apologize for the long wait for this chapter. Times have been quite busy for me (and will continue to be for a little while yet). It might be awhile before another installment is up. Thanks to all readers and reviewers!! There is still more to come._


	10. Chapter 10 The Meeting

"Hello

**Chapter Ten**

**The Meeting**

"Hello?"

Tecna looked over at Timmy as he answered the phone. Of course, it was only logical that he answered it, he was closest, but something told Tecna that it wasn't somebody calling to have conversation with him specifically.

"Is Tecna there? It's Flora"

"Oh hi! She is here, just hold on a second"

Timmy put his hand over the phone to muffle any sound that may be leaked before looking over at the pink haired fairy and motioning that it was for her.

"Who?" she whispered

"Flora"

"Ooh...Alright" She then took the phone from him.

"Flora?"

"Tecna, I need to talk to you about something"

"Alright, go on"

"It's about that little problem you said you would take care of, sweetie. It's been awhile... and... well, it's still a problem. These people keep offering to bring a technological industry to Linphea... of course, they're from Zenith. They also claimed that it would help not only Zenith, but also my beloved Linphea. I just can't believe them. You see I've tried..."

Tecna interrupted, "My sincerest apologies for not acting on your problem as quickly as you may have perceived I would, but I have been awfully..."

"I know you've been busy. I completely understand dear, I just... it's bothering me and all"

"I understand. I'll take care of it as soon as possible, alright?"

"Um... well. I wanted to invite you to, um, dinner... here in Linphea."

"Alright?" There was a bit of wonder in the tone of her voice.

"For your trouble, a dinner is the least I have to offer. Saturday night, 6 o'clock, ok?" Flora tried to keep her voice from shaking.

"I'll try to make it"

"Thanks"

"Alright, I'll talk to you later then"

"Bye"

That Saturday evening in Linphea was a beautiful one. The moon was high and the stars shone bright. Some of the plants opened to reveal their petals; outstretched towards the sky, while others shut themselves away from it. In a field near the castle of Linphea, a ship was sitting, unattended. It stuck out like a sore thumb compared to all the surrounding trees and many flowers on the serene, rolling plot of land.

Tecna stood at the door of the castle, alone. Timmy had almost come along; he wanted to ensure that she got there safely. After much convincing, and a bit of arguing, he had made the decision not to tag along. Tecna knew by the rarely used serious tone to Flora's voice on the phone that it was best that she came unaccompanied.

The door slowly opened to reveal the flower fairy adorned in a beautiful pink flowered gown. Tecna entered and then was led to another door after following Flora through a maze of decorated hallways and staircases.

"I'll be in in a second, just have to grab a few things" she opened the large, ornately decorated oak door for Tecna to enter. "Make yourself comfortable if you would like" Flora said as the hurriedly made her way down the hall.

Tecna had an unusual feeling about her situation; it all seemed odd... almost fake, or like it was all staged. Maybe it was because of the fact that the castle was so dark at night... Candlelight wasn't nearly enough to brighten up the place. Nevertheless, she entered the room only to find a rounded table with little chairs seated around it. She was faced with something else as well. Sitting straight across from the door in which she entered was King Sky dressed in royal attire... smiling.

"Welcome! Take a seat and shut the door if you may." He was trying too hard to be pleasant, but she complied anyway.

"What is this about? I didn't expect you to be here... Flora never mentioned..."

"Oh, I just need to discuss something with you" Sky interrupted. "Serious matters, actually... it has to do with Flora's problem"

Tecna nodded. She had a feeling that this was going to be one long discussion...

"Look, why don't you just tell those silly men to leave Flora alone?"

_How many times will I be confronted with this?! _ "Well, I just haven't had the time" Tecna replied

"The time? Come on, as a ruler of a kingdom, spare time comes in large chunks. It would only take you a few moments to..."

"Sky, there has just been so much going on in my life right now..."

"Which means you don't have time for Flora?"

"No! It's..."

"Just do as I say, alright?"

"What makes you think you're the authority over me?"

"I've been a ruler longer."

"Is that it?" Tecna snarled. She wasn't enjoying his cocky attitude.

"Yes."

"Wow, you sure have changed. What happened to that Prince Charming we all knew so very well?" Tecna almost smiled as she saw Sky's face turn bright red.

"He's still here, you're the one who has changed"

"So it may be."

Sky felt as if his head was going to implode with anger. She touches up on a sensitive subject, then she goes and acts as if she doesn't have a care in the world.

"I'd be happy if some army crushed your realm...," he snorted.

"Oh really? I doubt that seriously. You wouldn't..."

"I do." Sky interrupted. Tecna was taken aback.

"The Zenithian army would be too strong on their own base for any group of people to 'crush', as you say"

Sky, who took great pride in his realm's army, was outraged, "What makes you think that!? My army..."

Meanwhile, Flora leaned against the door. She was very much regretting ever asking Bloom and Sky for help. _Why can't I take care of things on my own? Why do I always ask for help? _She sighed, pitying herself. She could hear the yelling coming from the room through the door... what an argument. _Is my problem really that serious? It sounds as if there's a war going on in there... it can't be that difficult to work out... can it? _ Flora knocked lightly, not wanting to upset the two inside the room... they already seemed angry enough. When the yelling failed to cease, Flora shuffled down the hall and into a large room that acted as a sitting room.

She plopped on the flower-printed couch and picked up one of the few pieces of technology that was actually allowed in Linphea... a phone. After dialing and hearing a few rings, a voice came on the other line.

"Hello?"

Flora sighed in relief, "Bloom... I need your help. I think you may want to come here and..." she listened as the yelling from the other room increased, "I think you should pick up your husband."

"What is he doing there!?"

Bloom was always the type to be jealous, even back when they were freshman at Alfea, and Flora knew this all too well, "Bloom, it's not like that"

"Oh yeah Flora, you have no husband. You want to steal my baby, don't you!?"

"Bloom, I'm your friend. I would never do that, you know that."

"I'm going to pick him up"

And the call ended. _She didn't sound too happy when she said that, _Flora thought to herself. She heard a door slam open as well as an "I can NOT believe you!" from Tecna and an "And YOU'RE not so better yourself, miss!" from Sky. Evidently, they had gotten tired of arguing.

Flora just sat and watched as Tecna steamed out of the palace and into her ship while Sky paced in the hallway. A few moments later, Sky was on the floor with his head in his hands, mumbling things to himself.

"I shouldn't have acted like that... I acted like such a jerk. And now she thinks that I'm going to take drastic measures"

Flora shook her head, "Maybe you should apologize."

"I'm not until she does. She wasn't much better herself."

"I think this whole ruling thing has gotten to her." Flora felt that it had gotten to Sky's head too, but she didn't say anything. She wasn't one who liked to rile somebody up without it being necessary.

"I think so too." Sky ran his hand through his lengthy blonde hair before adding, "I miss the good ole days. Everything was so simple."

All the memories flooded Flora's mind. All she could say was "me too" before the sound of a ship rang through the castle.

"Sky?! I know you're here!"

Sky buried his face and mumbled "oh god" at the recognition of his wife's voice.

"It's Bloom" Flora said quietly, as if Sky didn't already know.

"There you are! What are you doing?" Bloom stood over Sky while looking down at her pathetic sight of a husband. He quickly stood up, brushed himself off, and addressed her, "I just talked to Tecna about Flora's problem"

And it clicked, "We'll talk about this later; we have a royal dinner to attend to... along with that wretched Diaspro..." Diaspro had married into royalty and didn't have such a bad situation at that moment, but for Bloom, seeing her again was like a real-life nightmare.

Flora watched as the couple left once again. She looked at her feet and a tear ran down her face. The tension between her two friends that day was almost unbearable to her. She was hoping that it would all work out alright, but she had no such luck. To top it off, she had raised false suspicions in one of her closest friend's mind. _Maybe things will get better... _

Back in Zenith, Tecna was arranging for a meeting with her panel of advisors. If Sky was serious about launching an attack on Zenith to get back at her for the things she said, then she figured she must take action beforehand so the outcome wouldn't be catastrophic. _What could be more stupid then launching an attack on someone and risking lives in the process because of a few harsh words? _Tecna shook her head in pity; Sky was more dense then she thought he was. Now, the question was how could she take on something like that? An attack... coming from a friend's realm? Eraklyon was tough... she had to be prepared...

_Author's Note:_

_I apologize for the lengthy time period between chapters. School has started up here and I'm as busy as ever. Thanks to my readers and reviewers for being so incredibly patient! ____ More soon. _


	11. Chapter 11 Defeat

**Chapter Eleven**

**Defeat**

"You're kidding" Timmy sighed.

"No…" Tecna admitted.

The two were in their living room, seated across from each other.

"Well this whole situation is getting worse day by day. Sky is our friend, what did you say to him?" Timmy asked.

"Are you implying that this is all _my _fault?" Tecna said defensively.

"No, no, not at all. I'm just saying, it's not like Sky to fly off the handle like that. He wouldn't attack a friend's realm for no reason."

"It was just a few harsh words. He should not have taken it so seriously"

"But he did"

"You're not helping" Tecna said softly.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Consult with my advisors." Tecna's voice got more quiet with each time she spoke.

Timmy rubbed his head as if he had a headache.

"I'm sure we can come up with something" Tecna tried to comfort him.

"This is just… not good. Maybe I should talk to him" Timmy stood up.

"I doubt he'll listen." Timmy could barely hear what she had said.

"It's worth a try"

"Just don't. I wouldn't give him any more reasons to attack"

"Are you saying I'd make him even more upset?"

Tecna sighed while falling back onto the couch to lie down.

"Just…" she closed her eyes, "I can handle this."

Timmy shook his head and left the room.

In truth, Tecna didn't know if she could handle it. The whole ruling thing was getting the best of her. She was usually so confident, but now she felt as if she was collapsing and she couldn't do anything about it. Plus, the one person she could confide in seemed to be doubting her. She stood up slowly, she had to talk to the advisors. They were there to give her advice, she just needed to heed it.

She pulled on a coat and left her home. She made her way down the busy streets on Zenith, head down, not looking up at anyone. Though it would have been faster, Tecna decided against using a vehicle, she would rather take up time and walk. It almost hurt to see the castle; she had hoped that her walk would last longer. She was almost afraid to confront her advisors, who were probably quick to judge. Tecna was sure that they would pin the whole ordeal on her, without a doubt. She feared facing their questions. How was she expected to answer their questions and defend herself when, in fact, she was questioning herself on the matter?

She walked through the long hallway in the castle, leading to the dreaded conference room. Once there, she slowly opened the door to reveal the panel of ten highly-intelligent advisors seated around a table.

She held her head up, trying to show confidence, though inside she was scared to death. She took her seat and faced them.

"I thank you all for coming" she started, straining to keep her voice from quivering.

They nodded.

"I wish to discuss our plan of action for Eraklyon." Thank goodness her voice didn't shake.

"I still don't quite understand the circumstances surrounding the reason as to why the king of Eraklyon decided to attack us, the realm of Zenith, who has helped his kingdom grow economically with our technology." One advisor commented.

And there it was, "I'm afraid the reasons for his decision are beyond me as well". Was that the best she had? Would they take it?

They nodded, seemingly content.

Halfway through the discussion, plans were starting to form, though Tecna wasn't quite content with what they had come up with.

"We can not just sit back and wait for attack, why should we not take action against them first, so fear of an attack does not have to carry on through our citizens?" Tecna said impatiently.

"We would make something greater out of this then it has to be if we attack them first"

"Plus, we're not even sure ourselves if Eraklyon is going to attack us at all"

"You wouldn't be sparing our citizens of fear, you'd just be spreading fear of an all-out war amongst them"

"It would be an ignorant decision"

"A poorly made one at that. We should just prepare ourselves for an attack."

"And have our people wondering day to day if they will be in danger?" Tecna struck back.

"Would you rather have them wondering if they will be going off to a pointless war? Getting killed over something they had no power over? Is that what you want?"

Tecna leaned back, "I think I have made my decision. You are dismissed." She waved them away.

Some of them left fuming, others wondering what decision she had come to.

"She is incompetent." Tecna heard one say as they left. "Totally ignorant if she goes through with her plans" another said.

She held her head. What a headache. The meeting had maxed out her stress level; now that it was over, she should feel relieved, but she didn't…. not at all. She felt as if she had the world on her shoulders, and in a way, she did.

She left the castle and slowly made her way down the streets of Zenith once again, her destination being home. She could use a hug right now, that or some comforting words to soothe her. Maybe just a nap would do…

Xxxxxxx

The familiar walls were like a safe haven to her. Who knew the living room could be so comforting? Some relief had hit her once she had entered her home, but not enough to ease the large amount tension she still had. She moved from a resting state to a sitting one when she heard Timmy enter the room. He had no idea as to how glad she was to see him.

He sat across from her, setting down a glass of water in front of her.

"How did it go?" He asked. The sadness in her eyes answered the question for him, but she responded anyway.

"Not well"

He came over and sat next to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She looked directly at him, "I think I've come to a decision"

He nodded.

"I think I want to launch an attack on Eraklyon before they do so to us."

Timmy held his head in his hands, "Do you know how catastrophic that could be? Why put us in danger if you are not even sure if we are going to be attacked at all?"

"I just think it would be better if we went through with it. I wouldn't want us to be taken by surprise when we do get attacked, or have fear run rampant throughout the Zenithians."

Timmy stood up and shook his head, "Do you honestly think that they wouldn't be afraid of the outcome of us attacking Eraklyon? I sure would be."

"You don't agree?"

"I'm sorry, but I highly disagree with your plan"

She shook her head. "What a mess"

"No kidding, and it's your job to fix it."

"Thanks, I really needed a reality check" Tecna replied sarcastically.

"I'm sorry but… just…can't you see what you're going to get us into?"  
"I just think it would be better…"

"I don't think it would be, to be honest"

"Is that all you do? Argue with me?"

"Tecna, I have to! It is a silly idea, one that would cause a lot of unneeded damage"

"All you've been doing lately is arguing with me"

"Because you're not right all of the time"

She lied back down on the couch.

"Make the right decision, ok? Listen to the advice given to you. Good luck." He sounded disappointed in her. Soon after, he left the room.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. This _was_ too much for her to handle. Not only was her world crumbling beneath her feet, but she felt as if she was losing a dear friend… _Or is he more?_, she thought, _I feel so strongly for him… I love him, but why can't I admit it? Why do I feel like I'm giving in? _

She buried her face in her hands again, the familiar feeling of defeat blanketed her. _Now what am I going to do?_

xxxx

_Author's Note: Thanks for reading. A big thanks, as well, to reviewers. :) More chapters to come!_


	12. Chapter 12 The Army Awaits

**Chapter 12**

**The Army Awaits**

The next morning, rumor spread that Eraklyon was going to attack late that afternoon. Some Zenithians were angry, but most were terrified. The castle was under attack with harsh comments and other insults from citizens and the person who was most under fire was Tecna. To her, the comments were just another load to add to her already overpowering burden.

It was because of those comments, though, that she left the castle and her stunned advisors to go home for the afternoon. This was something that particularly enraged the panel of advisors, who thought that a decision would have to be made quickly in order to protect Zenith, but for Tecna, it was time to herself to think and analyze the situation. Too much had happened in too small of a time frame and it was too overbearing: that was a simple way to describe her situation, but she wanted to delve into it deeper.

After going through the security precautions at her door, she slowly trudged to her awaiting living room and fell on the couch, rubbing her head. The house was silent, and she knew why, but at the same time, she didn't want to accept it. In other words, she was in denial of the fact that Timmy decided to sleep at a hotel the other night after their argument. She wondered if their relationship was beyond mending now. If she was to be stressed like this all of the time, she wouldn't want to be his downfall. _He deserves to be happy. _

She opened her eyes and looked at the clock; 12:06. Not quite late afternoon. She still had time to think. Going back in her mind, she remembered the argument between her and Sky that lead to this disaster. Why did they argue? How could Sky, a friend, do this to her? Then images of a worried Flora were caught in her mind. If she wanted to resolve the problem, she would have to start at the source.

She grabbed the phone and dialed the flower fairy's number. Unfortunately, she didn't pick up and Tecna didn't feel as if it was a good idea to leave a voicemail. Next, she called Bloom and Sky, and luckily, she did get to hear a voice at the other end of the receiver, just not the one she intended to speak to.

"Hello?"

"Bloom? This is Tecna, can I talk to you about something"

"Well, umm, I'm, well… not too sure I can…"

"Look, may I just ask what Sky is intending to do?"

"I can't…"

"Please, I want to make things right. Everything is… it's just all falling apart. I think your husband took my words a little too seriously and now we have this mess."

"Umm…. he heard that you're going to attack him first."

"Well, that spread fast."

Bloom swallowed hard, "So he decided he wanted to be the first one to strike"

"Is he still at Eraklyon?"

"Well, yes… he's about to leave though, a portal is ready."

"Could you distract him for awhile? I want to speak to him personally."

"I could give him the phone."

"No. Face to face."

"Doesn't sound like a good idea to me."

"So be it. Just hold him there for a few moments. Much appreciated."

Tecna quickly hung up the phone and hurriedly searched for the invention Timmy and her made to open a portal. Once she found it, within a moment, there was a portal waiting before her. She only took a moment to breathe in heavily before entering.

Eraklyon was a beautiful place, all except for the group of armored men standing in front of the castle. That was the sight Tecna was hoping not to see. She ran as fast as she could towards the castle, where a familiar redhead was standing.

"He's waiting for you in the back gardens. Maybe you two can come to an agreement?" Bloom said quietly, with a slight quivering, nervous tone.

"That is the goal" Tecna caught her breath, ignoring the nervousness in Bloom's voice.

After a few moments, Tecna turned away from the fairy and headed to the back gardens. The eerie feel of danger she had felt so often crept around her, making her spine feel as if it was tingling. She would feel the sensation of fear every time the witches attacked back in freshman year, though she was the best at hiding it. She felt this every time her dear friends were in danger. She most especially felt fear back when she thought her life as she knew it was surely going to end; in the Omega Dimension, with its freezing temperatures and murderous convicts. She shivered at the thought and quickly banished it from her mind, but she still felt fearful.

She was greeted soon enough by Sky, dressed in armor, sword at his side. Tecna had come in business-casual attire and by no means had she thought to bring a weapon. Now, she wished she had.

"So, are you here to surrender before the battle even begins?" Sky mocked her.

"No, my intentions were to mend this before anyone gets hurt."

Sky rubbed his chin.

Tecna continued, "This is silly Sky. It is such a small problem, so pointless. This is not worth getting people hurt."

"Your people"

"They are still people."

"Robots"

"Not all of them."

Sky sighed, "Go on"

"I did think you were my friend," she muttered.

"That was then, now you just… you're different."

Tecna didn't want another argument to stir up. "Please, Sky. Think for a moment. If I could patch things up between Flora and I, we wouldn't have to take action."

"My army is already ready to go."

"Just consider it practice for them to get their armor on and all. You don't _have _to send them into a battle they needn't go."

"But I think they need more experience"

Tecna just wanted to hit him so badly. She still had rather long nails… "Sky… Please."

She felt so very defeated, begging for mercy from a friend. How low could the situation possibly get?

"Now you're begging."

And of course, he had to bring her defeat out into the open when she already felt horrible enough. "Yes, I am. I'm begging for you to be more intelligent and less irrational with your decision-making. Sky, my goodness, you saved my life at one time, and now you don't give a care about me. Instead, you treat me as if I'm some sort of enemy that you and your army are waiting to pounce on! Is that what you call leadership? Heck, my ruling, though chaotic, seems better then yours at the moment. You're just… not thinking."

Sky drew his sword from its case at his side. Tecna's eyes fell as she looked from the sword to the floor.

"And you're still thinking irrationally," she said quietly, predicting what was to come.

Sky's mind was clouded with all the stress he had had lately, that and the rude things that Tecna said to him. He wasn't one to normally take out his emotions on others, but standing before him was the enemy in his mind. Not a friend, but a foe.

Tecna sighed. Astoundingly, she wasn't scared. Instead, she was covered in sadness. Everything had gone so very wrong and she was going to pay for it dearly. At least those advisors would be happy… to think that she used to be one of them made her wish that they would consider her ideas more so then they did. Now they wouldn't even have to worry about her.

Sky set his sword in the grass next to him and seated himself on a bench. Tecna slowly moved her eyes from the ground to him, realizing what he had done.

"I'm sorry. I have been kind of… well, irrational as you say, but that gives you no right to call me out on it and make me feel like one scum of a human being." His eyes where harsh and cold; anger and sadness flowed in harmony through them. Tecna averted hers, teal and full of regret and sorrow.

"My advisors are going to kill me if you don't you know." Tecna's voice shook.

"No they won't."

"If they don't, they'll probably want to. Especially the eldest of them, he hates me the most."

Sky shook his head, "We have to work this out."

Tecna strained to keep herself from rolling her eyes. That is what she had been trying to tell him all along. Now he was _finally_ coming to his senses.

"It's Flora's fault." Sky murmured. Tecna wanted to slap him.

"Let us not put the blame on one another, but fix the problem." She commented profoundly.

Sky nodded, "Let's"

Tecna took a seat on the bench while Sky went off to command his beloved army. She thought to herself for a moment and realized, if they were to put the blame on anyone, she knew solely whose fault it was: her own.


	13. Chapter 13 And If It All Ends Well

_Author's Note: This is the final chapter! I'm sorry it took so very long to update, I kept changing the ending but I finally decided on this one. I hope you all enjoyed reading this story (I particularly hope the Tecna fans enjoyed it. :P) I had fun writing it, and I hope the ending is satisfactory. :) Thanks to all readers and reviewers for giving me the motivation to continue this and follow through. I dedicate this to you. _

**Chapter 13**

**And If It All Ends Well**

"And after viewing the many mistakes I've made, even in the short time of having control of this vast and advanced realm, I've decided that it is just too much for me to handle. I am still young, and I admit, am too inexperienced to lead the ever-growing Zenith in a desirable direction. This newly found power I once held nearly ruined me, so now I feel as if it was too much of a burden to take on in the first place. I know there are others that are entirely more deserving of this position of rule than I am," Tecna spoke before the skeptical panel of advisors she had hated so passionately just a short time before.

She felt horrible, begging was not something she enjoyed doing... and she had never desired to step down and admit defeat. She liked to be held high, some may even say she was overconfident, but at this point in time, she felt the weakest she had ever been. She knew that if they wanted to destroy her, that very moment of weakness would be the ideal time to get rid of the cause of all their recent troubles. She was desperately searching for forgiveness, and hoped it would be granted to her for the good deeds she had done for the realm in the past, but because of the circumstances, she was quite unsure that the outcome would be lenient.

They watched her take a seat, eyes cold and harsh as if they were staring through her. She held back a shiver that had been attempting to creep up her spine. She was waiting for her fate to be decided, in a sense.

The eldest advisor stood up and cleared his throat before speaking, "I think we all agree that the problems you've caused were absolutely reckless and selfish. What is even worse is the fact that you had other options but you went with what personal matters were clouding your head at that point. We are all disappointed in you." Tecna looked down at her lap while he spoke. The sound of his voice seemed to be moving slower and slower, as if time itself was coming to a halt. She almost wished it was.

"Though, with that being said, we have reviewed your past behavior. You have protected the realm's power several times from attacks before this situation was spun." He paused to collect his thoughts before continuing, "We need to have a private discussion of how we're going to fix this hysteria. Wait in the hallway and someone will call you in."

Tecna slowly rose from her seat, though the dizziness she was feeling nearly prevented her from doing so. She slowly shut the door behind her, and took solace in leaning against the nearest wall. This whole time, she should have listened to them. _None of this would have happened if I had. _She shook her head. _What do my friends think of me? What does Timmy think of me? _ She quickly tried to rid of the thought. She had never cared about what others thought of her before, but now she couldn't help but wonder. She even began to think back of freshman year, a time where she never openly expressed her feelings. It was also a time she rarely felt true emotions. Emotions.... they had never come naturally to her until those years at Alfea. Now, they were surrounding and suffocating her.

The time that she had wanted so desperately to stop was now a bother. Every second felt like an hour, and she was becoming impatient. Tecna hated to be left alone with her thoughts, doubts, and inquisitiveness. She began to wonder if what she was experiencing was indeed a described 'mental breakdown'.

After what felt like days, the Zenithian fairy was called back into the room. Every sound her feet made upon the hard, metal-coated floor throbbed in her head. She handled herself as if she was confident when, in truth, she was full of doubt.

When she took her seat, the elder advisor immediately began reciting what was to become of her and the tangled heap of mess she had created.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

A knock at the door abruptly woke Timmy from a nap he had been taking. He opened his eyes and looked around the living room that had become so familiar to his sight during that miserable period of time where sleep was almost nonexistent and frequent technological gadget mutilations took place. He groggily lifted himself off of the couch and trudged to the screen alongside the front door. When he looked at who was waiting on the other side through the security camera's monitor, he immediately thrust open the door.

There was a long pause as their eyes met. Gloomy, teal eyes looked up at a set of tired, golden ones. Before either of them could say a word, they had embraced. Tecna leaned her head against Timmy's chest as he held her. Both were unsure of their standing with one another, but after all that had happened, a hug was a given.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours after Timmy had opened the door for Tecna, they had situated themselves in the living room with a couple glasses of water and had a pleasant conversation before delving into serious matters.

Tecna decided to touch on the verdict of the advisors' decision with Timmy, though she was unsure of how he'd handle talking about such matters, "They nearly decided to take my powers away, which, as you may know, would drastically weaken me for a good portion of my life, if not all of it," she shook her head, "But instead they decided that I needed to lay low and stay out of the media's attention, which was one of the simpler "punishments". I do not have access to the realm's power any longer and I am no longer the ruler of Zenith, that position has been, if I may say, given, to the eldest advisor, whom will probably do a much better job than I could have ever done. I no longer have any association with members of the royal rule and cannot discuss any future ideas with the advisors. I may only give reports on how the realm is faring when it comes to attacks since they now require me to keep constant watch over Zenith. I'm required to stop, or prevent, any oncoming or future attacks. It is a large responsibility. I actually am pleasantly surprised that they still have enough trust in me to continue to serve the realm in such a way… "

"That is indeed a nice surprise," he paused, "Well, I do have..." Timmy started.

"You don't need to tell me. You don't want me back here nor do you want me meddling with your life any longer."

"No, no, no. That's not what I was going to say. Look, though admittedly you did make mistakes, you need to realize that it's human nature. I admit, it was my mistake to act like a jerk... like.... like a jerk," he cleared his throat, "when you needed me most. I mean, you may not have, but, well, by the look of it all you might have needed someone, you know, to talk to." He stuttered not simply because of the sudden nervousness that crept back into him upon seeing and talking to Tecna again, but also because of the fact that he really didn't know what to say. Not to mention that awful saddened look that Tecna had been wearing throughout her whole time there.

Timmy could see a slight smile invading the look of sorrow as she looked down at her feet, "I appreciate that, Timmy. I apologize for being, well, for lack of a better word, crazy. You must have been worried, I suppose."

"That, I was." Timmy chuckled a slight bit and noticed the fairy's smile increase. He couldn't help but grin as well, whenever Tecna was happy, it normally would make his mood better as well, but that was before this whole situation took place. There were so many things left unsaid before and during the whole disorder that Timmy was dying to tell her, but just couldn't bring himself to express. Like how much he worked in his lab with blueprints and such as if working excessively was going to fix everything and bring her back to him. He remembered how many of the inventions they had once made together he had taken apart during her absence to compensate for not having her there to help him. He wanted to simply tell her that he had missed her, but he was unsure of how she felt about him. They had lived together, at a time, but they had still kept their distance. It had occurred to him that the time had been bumpy because of the fact that she was upset with the king while she was his advisor, and he had wished he had seen that before becoming upset with her for acting introverted and locking herself in her room to "work". He felt as if nothing he could say or do would mend that.

"Well, I should ask if I'm allowed to move back into this house again." Tecna broke through the silence.

"Of course, we bought it together." Timmy's hopes rose when she talked of coming back. Maybe he _could_ restore things.

What he didn't know was he wasn't the only one hoping to patch up their relationship. The fairy of technology felt it was her responsibility to make it work out, since she felt she was the one who had completely demolished it.

"And maybe we could try to go back to the way we were... you know... erm... before... erm.... everything." Timmy's hands shook.

"Don't be nervous. I thought you had gotten over that long ago." She laughed slightly, remembering the days where he could hardly talk to her without getting extremely fidgety.

"Yes, I just..." He looked down, "I...." _Be courageous_, he thought, "I missed it. I missed you being here. I mean, I know we were apart a lot for a while, but I missed the time when we, well, we lived together in perfect harmony, I guess you could say. Inventing together, eating together, talking to each other... and all... Instead of staying on polar opposite ends of the house and keeping our distance from one another..." _I talked way too fast and way too much_, he thought.

The look of sadness faded from Tecna's face and was replaced by a humble, hopeful, smile. "I missed that, too."

"So maybe we can try that again?"

Tecna embraced him and he kissed her gently on the forehead. When she pulled away, she looked at his face and smiled, "I'd want nothing more."


End file.
